Illawarra Hawks secure Euroleague veteran Peyton Siva as NBL import replacement

Siva and the club had an agreement in principle earlier this week but, with commitments in the US keeping him abroad until this weekend, the former New Zealand Breaker is unlikely to take the floor for Monday's home clash with the Bullets.

The return clash in Brisbane next Thursday shapes as the likely club debut and his arrival can't come soon enough as coach Jacob Jackomas looks to arrest a three-game slide in a 1-4 start to the season.

Hawks GM Mat Campbell said the club was happy to secure a much-needed offensive facilitator of Siva's quality and experience in the short window of time since star point-guard Justin Robinson was ruled out for the season with a knee injury.

"We're rapt with him and the fact he's played in our league is a big plus," Campbell said.

"The refereeing and the way we play in Australia is different to what the US guys are used to so it can take a little while to transition imports straight out of the US.

"It's great to be able to get someone who knows our league and also just someone of his level. He played five years for (Alba) Berlin, played Euroleague, has played at a super high level and is a proven winner.

"We obviously had a bit of a stumble at home on Monday night but we've been [otherwise] right there so far this season. We're really looking forward to adding someone in there who can run the team and help us out."

Siva endured an injury hampered NBL stint with New Zealand last season and comes to the Hawks via Greek club Panathinaikos. Prior to that he led Alba Berlin to consecutive BBL championships in 2020-21.

Read more: Jackomas not reaching for the panic button despite shaky 1-4 start to the season

With Robinson's absence was most telling late in road losses to Perth and Adelaide, Campbell said Siva's experience will be invaluable in avoiding the late-game skids that have thus far hamstrung the Hawks campaign.

"We were really happy with Justin and the way he came in and facilitated the offence and made everyone else around them better," Campbell said.

"It was really important when we were looking for a replacement that we went and found someone who could do that. We looked at combo guards or something different from that point of view, but the facilitation of offence was really important to us.

"We've been in every game, we've led in the last quarter in three of the four losses so we're right about there. It was just about finding someone experienced at the elite level who can close out games for us, who understands time and place, who needs a shot and what's the high percentage [play]."

The silver lining to Robinson's absence has undoubtedly been the emergence of local product Lachie Dent as an NBL force, with Jackomas confident Siva will complement Dent and skipper Tyler Harvey in the back court.

"Lachie Dent has been a shining light for us in the early going and adding Peyton to the squad solidifies our back-court rotation which we have asked a lot of in the last few weeks," Jackomas said.

"Peyton's a high-level competitor whose elite decision-making will open up opportunities for the rest of the squad, and we can't wait to have him in Hawks colours next week."

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